Samsung YP-Z5 review:
Samsung YP-Z5

Once we were able to transfer music on to the Samsung YP-Z5, it was a pleasure to use. Navigation in all of the normal ways (via artist, album, genre, composer, playlist, and shuffle) is a breeze after you master the control, and new menus spring up from the middle of the screen when they're selected, rather than from the right--a minor albeit nice touch. We expected a decent graphical interface, as it was created by software designer Paul Mercer, who worked on the original iPod software. It's visually appealing, and it's certainly a step in the right direction for combating the iPod's famed intuitive interface. We also like that the Z5 always displays whatever song is paused or selected at the bottom of the screen no matter what mode you're in.

You can choose to shuffle all tracks or only within a certain artist, album, genre, composer, or playlist. Album art is displayed prominently, even showing up on the upper right of the screen when a song is selected from any list. In addition, you can customize your display's wallpaper with the image of your choosing. In order to play a track, you'll need to click the center of the control pad rather than the play/pause button, which controls only the song currently playing. This seems odd at first, but the advantage is that you can always pause a track, no matter where you are in the menus.

One feature that stood out was the Samsung YP-Z5's sound options. You get a full range of controls, including eight EQ presets and three 3D simulators that do a decent job of impersonating a club, a stage, or a studio using a reverb/delay algorithm (Samsung's own DNSe surround-sound simulator). You also get a slide-show function that displays a series of your photos as you listen to music.

All in all, the Samsung YP-Z5's feature set is standard and very iPod Nano-like, though you won't get extras seen in many flash-based players, such as an FM tuner, voice and audio recording, and video playback. The Z5 does not support on-the-go playlists.

The Samsung YP-Z5 sounds fantastic with or without the surround-sound simulator turned on. We encountered firm, deep bass, pristine treble, little distortion or hiss, and just about every other positive sonic quality you can expect from a portable player. The YP-Z5 is certainly one of the louder and better-sounding players we've heard, and it offers a slightly more brightness and punch than the iPod Nano.

As far as processor performance, we experienced little to no lags while navigating the menus, and the interface's cool zoom effect gave the player a lively feel.

Battery performance is where the Samsung YP-Z5 truly stands out, as it boasts a rated life of 35 hours per charge with its lithium-ion cell. In CNET Labs drain tests, we got 27.5 hours, quite a bit less than that figure, though we're still impressed. It dwarfs the iPod Nano's 15 hours, though it still gets bested by other flash players, such as iRiver's T10 (45 hours) and Sony's NW-E400/500 series (more than 40 hours).

About The Author

Evolver.fm Editor Eliot Van Buskirk has covered and occasionally anticipated music and technology intersections for 15 years for CNET, Wired.com, McGraw-Hill, and The Echo Nest. He is not currently an employee of CNET.